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Stepping Into the Spotlight

The Latin phrase – in medias res – means “in the midst of things” and, in literature, it’s the process of beginning the narrative by plunging directly in a crucial moment of the story.

Tyronn Lue’s tale as an NBA head coach had been slowly building for some time, but this year he was dropped in medias res directly into a story that continues barreling its way toward the All-Star Break, where he will coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars on Sunday night in Toronto.

On January 22, not long after the Cavaliers released David Blatt, Lue – just hours after beating his mentor, Doc Rivers’ and the Clippers – became the 20th head coach in Cavaliers team history, a year-and-a-half after being hired as the team’s associate head coach the previous June.

Directly before coming to Cleveland, the 38-year-old Lue served on Rivers’ staff in L.A. in 2013-14 and in the previous four seasons in Boston, the last two as an assistant coach. The 23rd overall pick of the 1998 Draft out of Nebraska, Lue played 10 NBA seasons with seven teams – the Hawks, Wizards, Magic, Mavericks, Bucks, Rockets and Lakers, who he won back-to-back titles with in 2000 and 2001.

In just over two weeks into his first foray as an NBA head coach, Lue has already seen the extreme highs and lows of the job.

In his head coaching debut – in a nationally-televised Saturday night battle with the Bulls – the Cavs came out flat and got beat by 13. Implementing Lue’s new up-tempo offense, they beat Minnesota the following Monday and rattled off the next four – scoring at a 114.2 clip in the process.

This past week, they posted a clunker in Charlotte, dropped a heartbreaker to Boston and topped two Western Conference squads – the Pelicans and Kings – heading into Wednesday’s matchup with the Lakers, the Cavaliers’ final game before the Break and Kobe Bryant’s final game at Quicken Loans Arena.

As Lue prepares for that matchup against the team with which he won a pair of Championship rings – and an All-Star Game on Sunday evening in Canada – he took a moment to talk with Cavs.com about what he’s seen so far and what lies ahead …

You talk about being proud of your small hometown – Mexico, Missouri – but you’re also proud of making it out of there and succeeding in the NBA. How often you reflect on how far you’ve come?

Tyronn Lue: Always. And I still have great relationships with my people back home. I go home every summer; we have our Fourth of July display that we have every summer for the whole town. My grandmother still lives there, so she makes me come back, maybe more than I want to.

But it’s great, growing up in a small town with about 11,000 people. And no one has really ever made it out of there. So for me having the chance, having the opportunity that I did is just a great compliment to the town where I’m from.

What’s the origin of your relationship with Doc Rivers?

Lue: Well, I signed with Orlando in 2003. And, unfortunately, I think Doc got fired after 10 games. But we built a great relationship and at one point and he told me: ‘When you’re done playing, you can come coach for me.’ And I was like: ‘No way am I ever gonna coach.’

And after my last year playing in Orlando in 2009, I called Doc up and he said, alright I’ll give you a call back tomorrow, and he had a position for me.

Are you able to spot which guys have an eventual career in coaching?

Tyronn Lue

Tyronn Lue and the Cavs coaching staff to coach the East squad.

Lue: Well, I haven’t been in a position to look thus far, but you can tell guys that have that coaching ability and have that coaching savvy. So as of yet, I haven’t been able to lock in on any particular person, but you can tell when guys have it.

Playing (and coaching) under so many greats over the years, did you pick up a combination of all their philosophies?

Lue: I wouldn’t say philosophies. Just how they did things, ran practices. How they structured game situations and how they’ve prepared for games.

There’s a lot that I’ve taken away from it, especially the accountability part of it – with Doc and Scott Skiles and Stan (Van Gundy). Can you hold your best players accountable, like Phil Jackson did? He was on Kobe and Shaq every single day. The other guys didn’t matter, but if you could get the attention of (Shaq and Kobe), believing in what you’re doing, believing in your system, being held accountable – then everybody else will stay in line.

What do you want your team’s identity to be?

Lue: My identity? I like toughness – mentally and physically, both on offense and defense. Playing at a high pace and being a tough, gritty team on the defensive end. That’s what I envision, taking over as coach.

What’s been your biggest challenge so far?

Lue: Just being able to put that stamp on the team. You don’t have a lot of time, and taking over the team midway through the season, they are who they are. So you just have to continually, slowly try to break bad habits and try to get those guys on board with what you want to do.

How has playing on teams and coaching teams that were loaded with stars prepared you for this job with the Cavaliers?

Lue: It’s helped me because I’ve always had those guys’ respect from day one – starting with Shaq and Kobe, then playing with Michael Jordan in Washington, playing with Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming in Houston. I’ve always had those guys’ respect. Even those elite players and potential Hall of Famers, they’ve always respected me.

And when I got with Doc, just having the opportunity and the challenge – I was always the ‘bad guy.’ I’d always have to talk to Rondo and talk to (Kevin Garnett) and Paul (Pierce); talk to (Chris Paul) and Blake (Griffin). That was always my role, so I’m comfortable doing that.

But in doing that, you have to be able to make your point but also still make them feel good. Do it in a way that you can get your point across and still have them perform. That’s what I’ve been able to do over the course of my career in coaching.

So who has the ‘bad guy’ role here with the Cavaliers?

Lue: Me.

You probably haven’t had much time to think about it, but what’s your play for Sunday’s All-Star Game?

Lue: (laughs) I’m letting (Larry Drew), (Mike Longabardi) and Jim (Boylan) do the coaching!

It’s been a crazy two weeks, so having a chance to just step back and reflect on everything that’s going on and how to prepare for everything that’s coming up in the half is going to be important for me.

Last question: During your playing days, you were a serious ‘Cavs-Killer.’ Did you have something against us back then? What’s the reason?

Lue: Maybe it was just that I was playing against Damon Jones all the time and that just made things a lot easier. (laughs)

But it’s probably because players bring their best when they’re going up against LeBron and the Cavs. So maybe that’s it.